The full technical release notes containing a list of features
and integrated child workspaces can be read here.

General Improvements

Improved screen appearance

OpenOffice.org now uses a technique called anti-aliasing
to improve the way it draws on screen (lines, circles, etc). You will
notice an immediate improvement in the clarity of graphics -
particularly charts - wherever they appear throughout
OpenOffice.org.

This also has improved 'graphic geometry' - e.g. when you
overlay one shape on another to create a combined shape.

Making 'dragging' easier with
graphics

When you drag an object in a drawing across the screen,
OpenOffice.org now shows you a 'shadow' of the object, rather than
just a dotted outline. This makes it much easier to place images
accurately in complicated drawings.

Improved file locking

If you are working on a network where several people may have
access to the same document, file locking prevents people
accidentally overwriting other people's changes. As OpenOffice.org
works on different operating systems, it cannot rely on the operating
system alone to tell users when a document is in use. OpenOffice.org
now has its own mechanism, which allows it to have a reliable locking
when the locking from the operating systems fails. It also allows
OpenOffice.org to see who has already opened the document.

Overlining

OpenOffice.org now supports overlining for text as well as
underlining, with the same range of options as underlining (type of
line, colour).

Writer

Subtle highlights

Highlighted text is now displayed with a subtle background colour,
rather than reverse video. Easier on the eye, easier to use.

Improvements to Comments

It's now possible for a series of editors to carry out a
structured conversation through Comments, by right-clicking on a
Comment and selecting 'Reply'.

As a further enhancement, the Search facility now also searches
the text of Comments.

Further grammar checker
integration

With OpenOffice.org 3.1, the grammar checker framework has been
extended so that Extensions like LanguageTool can now be accessed
from the Tools -> Spelling and Grammar menu command. Note that
OpenOffice.org has a grammar checking framework, but does not come
with a grammar checker. This can be installed as an Extension.

Outline levels within
paragraphs

Writers of documents with complex ordering formats can now specify
a new paragraph and paragraph style attribute "outline level". This
transforms a normal paragraph into a heading, independent of any list
style or paragraph style.

Calc

Rename sheets with a
double-click

Double-clicking on a tab in a Calc sheet now pops up the
Rename dialog box. In previous versions, you had to right
click on the tab and then select the Rename option from a pop-up box.
This change makes it easier to carry out this frequently-used
function.

Zoom slider in the Status bar

The new zoom slider control in the Status bar was a popular
addition to Writer in OpenOffice.org 3.0. With 3.1, it's available in
Calc too, giving quick and accurate control over the level of zoom of
the display on the screen.

Formula hot hints

Calc now keeps the syntax of a formula displayed right next to the
cell as you type as a handy aide-memoire for how to use a
formula.

Improved sorting

There are a number of changes to make sorting more logical,
consistent, and powerful. The first time you use sort (or if you use
the toolbar button to sort), Calc will assume you want to sort by the
column where the cursor is located. The toolbar buttons now use the
same logic as the sort dialog to determine if a range has column
headers. Finally, when you sort, Calc now preserves the original
order of entries with equal sort keys.

Formulae changes

A new EUROCONVERT spreadsheet function to convert between former
currencies of the Eurozone, including import from and export (binary)
to MS-Excel file formats.

New GAMMA, CHISQDIST, and CHISQINV spreadsheet functions, and
changes to GAMMADIST, CHIDIST, and CHIINV spreadsheet functions for
statistical analysis.

The BETADIST spreadsheet function now has an additional optional
'cumulative' parameter to specify whether to calculate the
probability density function or the cumulative distribution function,
defaulting to TRUE for compatibility.

Performance improvements

Performance bottlenecks in Calc have been removed, resulting in
dramatic performance improvements in the two test cases: from 24
seconds to 1.2 seconds in
the first case; and from one hour to approx 12 minutes in
the second case. This is part of a continous
improvement activity to squeeze performance improvements from
Calc.

Chart

Flexible positioning of axes

OpenOffice.org charts now offer a range of options for the
placement of axes. This feature has been in great demand,
particularly from educational users.

Handling missing data

You may now also choose how OpenOffice.org charts handle missing
data points - leave a gap, assume zero, or continue the line through
the missing value.

For further information on the changes to Chart, please see
the
GullFOSS post.

Impress

Font size buttons

Impress now has convenient toolbar buttons to increase or decrease
the font size of text quickly and easily. Make your text fit
perfectly in seconds!

Base

SQL Syntax highlighting

When you edit SQL, Base now uses colours to highlight SQL syntax.
It will also 'flash' to indicate matching parentheses (). This makes
it easier to spot spelling mistakes, errors in your SQL syntax,
etc.

Macro applications in Base

With OpenOffice.org 3.1, it is possible to build a complete
'database application' by including macros and scripts within a Base
document (.odb). This feature already exists in other document
types.

This means macros can now be run from either the document itself,
or any of its sub components: forms, reports, table design, query
design, relation design, table data view. This is an important
enhancement for people wishing to create complete 'packaged
applications' in Base.

Note: developers creating Base applications are advised to read
the wiki article (see below) for important information about other
developer features, and backwards compatibility issues.

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